Quiet but clear signals to your boss that you’re focused, reliable, and serious about growth are ones you can prioritize at the end of January without looking performative. Everyone comes back in early January with the “well-needed R&R,” but you can already see the momentum start to slip as February rolls in. There is no better time than to cement your intentions in mid-to-late January with your second tag-up of the year.
Here are a few signals you can give out without looking too try-hard.
Strategic Work Habits
Make sure to tie one of them to your team’s outcomes. Think: something that you plan to accomplish in Q1 and signal that you’re taking ownership. This could look like following up from December 2025 actions, or my personal favorite, “closing the loop” on a few things that remained open.
Communication Habits
2026 needs to be the year of asking better questions. Focus your questions on impact, tradeoffs, opportunities, and risks. Ask questions that you’ve put thought into rather than the first thing that comes to mind. I understand the pressure of coming off mute to look like an active participant, but let’s be smart about it. One effort you could support this with is reading the agenda ahead of time in the meeting invite. When you hit “accept,” add a note with your question based on the agenda. This shows your boss you plan to come prepared.
Track Your Wins
When you have your quarterly syncs with the boss, pull up your wins sheet and highlight how your daily work is impacting business development. If you do this without your boss having to ask, look out world, promotion in your future is inevitable. One of my favorite supervisors gave me a gold nugget that I’ve taken with me to every job. He said, “If you can anticipate my business needs before I can, you become invaluable.” It might feel awkward for you to highlight your successes, but I promise you no one else will. Lean in, baby!
Learn a Skill That Helps Your Boss
As I said in my previous signal, ‘Track your wins’, anticipating what your boss needs before they need it is HUGE. Now, look for a skill set you believe would help them in their pursuit, and learn it. Then, in your tracker for wins, you can highlight a new skill you acquired and how you believe this will help THEM. Making your boss look good in 2026 will make you look good. If you read that sentence and thought, ‘yeah right, I never get credit,’ then I give you permission to start looking for a new role. Maybe the 2025 version of you allowed them to treat you that way, but not the 2026 version, not this year.
It’s scary to see a list and feel like you need to be doing all of them, starting yesterday. But from my favorite place to lean in, mental health-wise, just pick one and start there. Make a personal goal for yourself to grow in your professional signals and slowly work through the list. Time is money; the early bird gets the worm; and remember… work smarter, not harder.
